Martin Truex Jr.’s No. 19 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota failed pre-race technical inspection twice ahead of Sunday’s Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Because of that, Truex will start from the rear of the field.
The 19 will start from the rear this afternoon.
— Joe Gibbs Racing (@JoeGibbsRacing) July 11, 2021
When talking to reporters Sunday afternoon, Truex said, “Coming from the back is never easy, but at a place like this — if you have to go to the back, you want it to be a place where it’s multiple grooves, got a wide racetrack that you can move around on. If we hit it right and our car is good, we should be able to do it.”
Martin Truex Jr. says he feels good about his ability to come from the rear today. His car failed prerace tech twice (passed on the third time) so he drops to the rear on the pace laps. pic.twitter.com/qgwjxz9j8W
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) July 11, 2021
Truex was originally scheduled to start from fifth position.